Introduction

Dhirubhai Ambani International Model United Nations 2019 Forum: GA4 – Special Political and Decolonisation Issue: Question of Cyprus Student Officer: Ayush Agarwal Position: Head Chair Introduction Cyprus is a small island located in a strategic position in the Mediterranean Sea. The population in Cyprus has been mainly divided into two ethnic groups, the Greek- Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots. MaJority of the population (77%) is composed of Greek- Cypriots. The Turkish Cypriots are minority forming 18% of the population. Although the two groups have been historically known to live together in peace, the situation has constantly degraded since Cyprus gained independence in 1960. Following the independence of Cyprus from the British empire, they formed their own constitution in 1960. The constitution had some flaws in terms of the distribution of power between the two parties. 13 amendments were introduced by the Greek Cypriot president in 1963, which were reJected by the Turkish government. This was soon followed by an intercommunal violence where the situation worsened and ethnic tensions grew further. This is when the United Nations (UN) decided to introduce a United Nation Peacekeeping Force (UNPKF) mission in Cyprus. The mission continues till date. Making matters further worse, a Greek military organisation engineered a coup in 1974 to overthrow the then president of Cyprus Archbishop Makarios. In this politically unstable situation, there was an invasion by the Turkish troops in Cyprus, who then occupied the northern part of the island. The captured region was declared an independent state called the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) by the Turkish troops. However, Turkey is the only country in the world to recognise the TRNC as a legitimate state. This ‘partition’ of Cyprus created innumerable problems for the residents and represents the main situation that the UN aims to solve. During the partition, over 160,000 Greek Cypriots and 50,000 Turkish Cypriots were displaced. Both the sides are accused of certain human rights violations. These include violence against women, police abuse against the individuals displaced due to the partition etc. The Research Report | Page 1 of 16 Dhirubhai Ambani International Model United Nations 2019 properties of various Greek- Cypriots were lost during their movement from one part of the island to the other. Many of these properties were soon distributed by the Turkish government amongst the Turkish Cypriots. The country has faced various economic problems with the most recent financial crisis in 2012- 2013. This politically unstable environment needs immediate reform. The primary goal now is to reach a conclusion acceptable to both the parties on the political division of the island. The Annan Plan proposed by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is an example of one attempt to do so. Due to the conflicting viewpoints of the two parties, reaching a favourable conclusion has become cumbersome. Thus, determining how to conduct successful peace talks is essential to solve the issue. Definition of Key Terms Coup d'état1 Sudden defeat of a government through illegal force by a small group, often a military one. Such a military coup took place in Cyprus in 1974 when the Greek Cypriot President Makarios was overthrown. Enosis Enosis refers to the union of Greece and Cyprus. Enosis was and still remains the goal of certain Greek Cypriots and was one of the reasons the Greek Military Junta conducted the 1974 military coup. Exclusive Economic Zone2 An Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is a concept adopted at the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (1982), whereby a coastal State assumes Jurisdiction over the exploration and exploitation of marine resources in its adJacent section of the continental shelf, taken to be a band extending 200 miles from the shore. 1 “English Dictionary, Translations & Thesaurus.” Cambridge Dictionary. Accessed July 2, 2019. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/. 2 Ibid. Research Report | Page 2 of 16 Dhirubhai Ambani International Model United Nations 2019 Federation3 A group of organizations, countries, regions, etc. that have Joined together to form a larger organization or government. Greek military Junta This was a group of right-wing nationalists who ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974. They were responsible for conducting the coup in 1974 which eventually led to the division of the island. Referendum4 A vote in which all the people in a country or an area are asked to give their opinion about or decide an important political or social question Republic5 A country without a king or queen, usually governed by elected representatives of the people and a president Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) This is the north-eastern portion of the island of Cyprus which is declared as an autonomous state by the Turkish Cypriots. Turkey is the only country in the world to recognise the TRNC. UN Buffer Zone in Cyprus6 After 1974, most of Cyprus’s Greek and Turkish Cypriots have lived separately in northern and southern regions of the island that are currently divided by a UN-controlled Buffer Zone. The Buffer Zone - also called ‘the Green Line’ - extends approximately 180 km across the island. In some parts of old Nicosia, it is only a few meters wide, while in other areas it is a few kilometres wide. Its northern and southern limits are the lines where the belligerents stood following the ceasefire of 16 August 1974, as recorded by UNFICYP. 3 ibid. 4 Ibid. 5 ibid 6 “About the Buffer Zone.” UNFICYP, June 21, 2019. https://unficyp.unmissions.org/about-buffer-zone. Research Report | Page 3 of 16 Dhirubhai Ambani International Model United Nations 2019 Background Information Independence of Cyprus and their constitution Cyprus gained independence from United Kingdom and set up its own constitution on August 16, 1960. This occurred under the London and Zurich agreement signed on February 11, 1959. The agreement laid down certain key points such as: • The State of Cyprus shall be a Republic with a presidential regime, the President being Greek and the Vice-President Turkish elected by universal suffrage by the Greek and Turkish communities of the island respectively. • A Treaty guaranteeing the independence, territorial integrity and constitution of the new State of Cyprus shall be concluded between the Republic of Cyprus, Greece, the United Kingdom, and Turkey. • The President and the Vice-President shall have the right of final veto and the right to return the decision of the Council of Ministers7 The points such as granting the Turkish Cypriot Vice President the veto power were necessary for the political equality, but proved to be disruptive to the political system and were resented by the Greek Cypriots. Further, separate Greek and Turkish Communal Chambers were created with legislative and administrative powers in regard to education, religion, culture etc. The Supreme Constitutional Court and the High Court of Justice, also had to be presided over by neutral presidents, i.e., not of Greek Cypriot nor Turkish Cypriot origin8. All these constitutional features made it extremely expensive to run the government and acted as a divide, further increasing the ethnic tensions. In response, the Greek Cypriot President introduced 13 amendments to the constitution in November, 1963. Some key points of the amendments are: 7 Cyprus History: Zürich Agreement. Accessed June 29, 2019. http://www.cypnet.co.uk/ncyprus/history/republic/agmt-zurich.html. 8 “Cyprus » The 1960 Constitution in Brief.” Cyprus RSS. Accessed June 29, 2019. http://www.greece.org/cyprus/?page_id=25. Research Report | Page 4 of 16 Dhirubhai Ambani International Model United Nations 2019 • The Greek-Cypriot President and the Turkish-Cypriot Vice-President will be elected by the Greek-Cypriot dominated House of Representatives as a whole (not by the Greek- Cypriot and Turkish- Cypriot members separately); • Remove the veto powers of the Turkish-Cypriots; • Reduce the Turkish-Cypriot component in the civil and military arms of government; • Abolish the separate community voting on fiscal, electoral, and some other matters; These amendments were reJected by the Turkish Cypriots immediately as they considered them to be biased towards the Greek Cypriots. This was ultimately followed by a constitutional breakdown where the Turkish Cypriots withdrew from the government. Intercommunal violence of 1963 Following the constitutional breakdown, the control of the Greek Cypriots increased significantly and there was a delicate political environment. On December 21, 1963 there was incident in which the Greek Cypriot Police was involved in killing a few Turkish Cypriots over an ID issue. The same day, the Turkish Paramilitary Organisation, TMT, conducted various attacks on the Greek Cypriots and tensions between the groups further worsened. There were a lot of attacks on the Turkish villages causing widespread displacement of the Turkish people. President Makarios was fearful that Turkey might carry out a threat to invade and agreed to British intervention from its bases on the island. With the involvement of the British troops, the death toll on both the sides reduced. Soon after this, the UN introduced the UNPKF mission in Cyprus called the UNFICYP consisting of over 6500 soldiers. These soldiers manned a “Green Line” which passed through the conflicted regions of the republic. Image 1- The UK sovereign bases in Cyprus and the UN Buffer zone1 Research Report | Page 5 of 16 Dhirubhai Ambani International Model United Nations 2019 1974 Military Coup and division of the island ‘By 1967, the Greek military organisation called the Greek military Junta had taken control of Greece. These right-wing nationalists asked President Makarios to regard Athens as the national centre and disregard his foreign minister. Thus, the relations between the junta and the Cypriot President, Archbishop Makarios, became increasingly strained. This led to the belief that Makarios was acting as an obstruction to achieve the goal of Enosis.

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